JAN MOIR: She looked at Harry with an icy stare that any husband would recognize – watch what you say, sir!
At an unassuming location near Santa Barbara, filled with plump cushions and statement lampshades, CBS News anchor Jane Pauley sat down with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for an interview.
“I’m so, so happy you’re here. Thank you,” Meghan said, giving the famous American TV presenter that special big hug she reserves for famous American TV presenters.
Then it was straight to the point. Harry and Meghan launched a Parents’ Network to support those whose children had died as a result of online harm. Harry was the first to speak.
“We used to talk about how if your children lived under your roof, you knew what they were up to,” he said, making a spire with his fingers to indicate the shape of a roof. He probably wanted hobbits and igloo dwellers to understand what he was talking about.
“And at least they were safe, right?” But were they, Harry? Were they really? They could be wearing Nazi uniforms or playing pool naked or doing cocaine or anything. You never know with kids.
CBS News anchor Jane Pauley sat down with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for an interview
In the four years the Sussexes have lived in America, Meghan has perfected her graceful image as a duchess in exile: regal but recognizable, grand and boring at the same time, writes Jan Moir
However, the Duke was specifically concerned about online bullying and the extreme effect it can have on vulnerable people. ‘They can be in the next room on a tablet or phone and they can go down these rabbit holes and before you know it, they could be committing suicide within 24 hours,’ he babbled.
“We’ve gotten to the point where almost every parent has to be a first responder, and even the best first responders in the world might not be able to recognize the signs of possible suicide. That’s the scary part about it.”
Just when I thought this might be an overreaction to a nonetheless serious problem, Pauley reminded viewers that even the Duchess herself had once considered suicide.
Meghan nodded sadly, remembering that time in old England, when Archie was just a baby and she felt her life wasn’t worth living.
“I just didn’t want to – I didn’t want to live anymore,” she said, clutching Harry’s left knee for support. Jane Pauley thought Meghan looked “uncomfortable” with the morbid line of questioning, but the duchess seemed pretty relaxed to me.
“I understand where you are. I didn’t expect it,” she said nobly, then explained that her “healing journey” involved talking openly about her suicidal thoughts.
‘I would never want anyone else to feel this way, I would never want anyone else to make these plans, and I would never want anyone else to be disbelieved.
“So if by sharing what I’ve overcome I can save someone… I’ll take a punch for it,” Meghan added, giving viewers an inspiring example of the emotional goodwill that makes her so special.
In the four years that the Sussexes have lived in America, Meghan has perfected her image as the graceful duchess in exile: regal but recognizable, grand and boring at the same time.
Harry and Meghan launch Parents Network to support those whose children have died due to online harm
She smiled blissfully as she spoke of “change for the better” and her “wonderful” children, but would also sometimes glare icily at Harry when it was his turn to speak on camera. Husbands the world over would recognize and interpret that icy, wifely look within seconds: Watch what you say, sir.
And keep it short. In a brief exchange of hugs on a porch, the Sussexes met some of the grieving parents. One couple had lost a daughter to online bullying, two others had lost sons who ordered drugs online that proved fatal.
The Parents’ Network, which launched on the Sussexes’ official Archewell website, will continue to meet online. “This physical meeting was just for the launch,” Pauley said. I bet it was.
Sometimes you wonder how Harry and Meghan have the nerve, the sheer brazen audacity to do what they do. Of course, the altruistic impulse is evident in launching an online Parents’ Network.
One can see the essential goodness in building an ’empowered community of families’ who ‘support and uplift each other’.
Yet it is no secret that the Sussexes are estranged – to varying degrees – from their own parents. Parents like Mr T Markle, who lives in poverty in a dusty Mexican border town. The 80-year-old is in poor health and has yet to meet his daughter Meghan’s husband or be introduced to his two grandchildren, whom he hopes to get to know before he dies.
Is there a network he can join? Or how about a network for King Charles, the parent so concerned about his youngest son’s public indiscretions and confessions that he reportedly avoids his phone calls and keeps their meetings to a minimum?
It’s all very confusing. Do the Sussexes mean well – or are they just being mean? You may think I’m being too cynical, but I’ll take a punch for that.
